Apple's Pandora-Killer Delayed Over Song Licensing Negotiations
Earlier this month, the WSJ reported that Apple was working on a streaming radio service to rival Pandora. Apple was reportedly in licensing negotiations with record labels, but was months away from launching the service.
Today, the New York Post reports that negotiations with music publisher Sony/ATV have hit a snag over the fee Apple would pay for each song streamed by its customers.
Apple’s plan to have its own music-streaming service built into the iPhone 5 was dramatically dashed when talks between the tech giant and Sony/ATV hit a last-minute snag, The Post has learned.
Sony/ATV, the world’s largest music publisher, and Apple couldn’t agree on a per-song rights fee, sources close to the situation said.
Those rights are usually tenths of a penny per stream, sources said. Sony/ATV was looking for a higher rate.
The Post reports that Apple wants better licensing rates than Pandora because it will direct record sales through the App Store, and Apple's restrictions on playing an artist multiple times would be looser than Pandora's.
Popular Stories
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company.
Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform.
Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns.
The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49.
There...
